Still a LoVe story
by Shel12
Summary: Logan still drinks when he is angry or upset. Veronica still runs. But no matter what is happening in their lives or their friends, they Still love each other.
1. Logan still drinks

A/N: I do not own Veronica Mars. If I did I wouldn't be on Fan Fiction.

I have read a lot of stories and reviewed some. This is my first attempt. I know its hard, but if you like it, please review. Be honest. I want to improve my writing.

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Logan still drinks when he gets angry and upset.

He drives to the local bar and orders a drink. Sue, the barmaid, can recognise the signs. He will not get handed his drink until he has handed over his keys.

Even though he is older, his looks and charm has not diminished in any way. He still attracts the women. Sue will keep an eye on them as Logan buys them drinks, pulling out his black platinum card with his old arrogance.

He still thinks this is why they stay at the bar with him.

His money.

When he catches his reflection in the bar, he sees the black circles under his eyes, the creases of wrinkles and the increase of weight he is sure he is carrying.

But when he runs his hand through his hair (a move he still does instinctively when he is nervous or in trouble – which lately seems to be all the time), it is still thick and silky. He is not sure if he is happy about that.

The peroxide blonde that attached herself to him after her first glance of his credit card is running her hands through it as she presses her silicon enhanced chest into his face. Part of him wishes she would just leave him alone, but she had chased away the other women who had been interested, including a fan of his 'Daddy Dearest', with a couple of 'bitchy' remarks.

He downs another shot.

And another.

She starts rubbing her chest more vigorously against his arm.

Logan downs a third shot in as many minutes.

Sue comes over to collect the empty glasses.

"Do you need a lift home?"

Logan leaves the bar about 20 minutes later with a tall blonde.

Sue comforts the bleached blonde left at the bar.

"Dude, why?"

Logan leans back against the seat of Dick's truck. The lights of the passing cars are making him feel slightly sick, or maybe it is the memory of why he is in this state.

"I can't do this! I will stuff it up. The books all say different things. I will be like him. I forgot the pickles. What if I am like him? I'm not ready" Logan yells, all of his worries just flooding out in a jumble of words.

Dick pulls over and looks at him.

"Dude. Listen to me. No one is ever ready. I wasn't ready. I don't think I will ever think I am ready for this. And I stuff it up all the time. But I have people ready to help me fix up my mistakes. And you are not like your father. Never have been and never will be. You have never made yourself the number one person in your universe."

Logan stares at Dick. In the street light it appears that he has a halo of light around his hair. His dumb, goofy but loyal best friend (Logan admits to himself that Duncan lost himself that title years ago) is proving himself worthy of that title with some heartfelt wisdom.

"But I might be. I still have my anger issues."

"I have never seen you get angry with Cassie, even when she drew that picture of you with the boobs".

"I did not have boobs in that picture! And how could I get angry at her for drawing a picture of me?"

"She drew it with permanent marker on you lounge room wall. Most people would have yelled at her, hell, I would have yelled at her. Instead you had to be talked out of framing it. If I hadn't pointed out she drew you with boobs, you may have left it there".

"I did not have boobs!"

"Mate, give up. My daughter has you wrapped around her finger."

"But she is a girl"

"My son, who throws up on everyone but you, obviously prefers you."

Logan frowns. His face scrunches up.

"And mate, if Veronica wanted the pickles to put on top of her ice cream again, I'm glad you forgot them. That shit is going to give your baby two heads or something!"

Logan can't help himself and chuckles. He guesses he is being a bit silly. Dick gestures to the house they have pulled up in front of.

"Look, she has kept the front light on for you. Guess she is expecting you. Go apologise and I'll catch up with you tomorrow to surf".

Logan heads up the front path. He still drinks when he is angry and upset... but he is working on it.


	2. Veronica still runs

A/N: Thanks to everyone who read the first chapter. I'm sorry for the delay with this chapter. I had issues with writing Veronica! Bigger thanks to my reviewer Josielynn.

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Veronica still runs when things are not going her way.

After college she ran all the way to New York. She stayed for a year before she came back. The next time she ran to Chicago for 7 months. She only spent 3 months in Colorado.

Now when she runs it is usually only to Los Vegas or San Diego for a couple of weeks.

This time she only makes it a few blocks.

Wallace opens the door to let her in. He wraps his arms around her before she even crosses the threshold.

Veronica can't help it. The tears cascade down her cheeks. Wallace leads her to the couch.

"Oh V, what's wrong? "

"We got into fight over PICKLES. How can I be so stupid?"

Wallace can't help chuckling while rolling his eyes. "Were you going to put them on top of your ice cream again? Cause you do know normal people don't eat pickles on top of mint ice cream. Hell, most of them take them off their hamburgers."

"Baby wants it." She sniffles.

"This baby is going to be so screwed up", Wallace said.

Veronica's sobs became harder.

"I know! I will become an alcoholic and run away from it. I am not ready to be a Mum! And Logan seems to be ... distant. He is preparing for me to leave him on his own with this baby. And I know when I'm working on cases I become self absorbed and selfish. I am going to neglect the baby and it will hate me. I can't do this!"

Wallace wrapped his arms around her. "Oh V, is this the real problem? You are going to be fine. You are not going to become an alcoholic the way you drink. You haven't had more than one drink since Dick's wedding."

"Well, he did ply me with champagne and then convinced me to sing 'Dick's too sexy', while he stripped for his new wife. If that doesn't turn anyone off drinking what else would?" Veronica interrupted.

"Exactly! My favourite part of that night was when you gave the speech and told Dick that you had a crush on him in year 7. And that Lilly had you pretend kiss him on a Teddy Bear." Wallace laughed.

"Ewww! Wallace! I just stopped the morning sickness. Don't make me start throwing up again. And I haven't drunk that much ever since."

"V, thats the point. You have had so many stressful times since then and you didn't turn to the bottle. We were all sure after that child abuse case that you might, but you were strong and helped Logan through it. You are not going to be the alcoholic. But that might be why Logan is so distant."

"What?" Veronica wiped away her remaining tears and stared up at him.

"V, Logan does drink when he is upset. Usually when he has had an argument with you. And every time you run it is worse. He hasn't had the best childhood. From what you have told me, his father would beat him... but what would his Mum do? Drink through it. Logan is smart enough to know he does the same...so he is probably scared that he is going to lose his temper and hit the baby."

"He won't do that! He will love this baby. He has never hit me, and I think I frustrate and anger him more than anyone. He doesn't hurt the people he loves. He is nothing like his father, just like..." Veronica trails off.

"Like you are nothing like your Mum." Wallace finishes off for her.

"Thanks Wallace. You are still my bestie" Veronica hugs him.

"You are mine too. But how about we have a deal, if you ever feel like running again, you run here to me."

"Deal."

"And when I finally get married you don't give a speech."

"Now you are pushing your luck! I have had that speech written for years!"

"Time to go home, V. Logan will be home later, and I think you two need to talk."

"You are changing the subject"

Yes, a bestie's priveledge. Will you be OK?"

"Not sure. I don't feel like I'm ready for this Baby. But I am starting to realise that I am not alone." Veronica walks to the door.

She and Wallace hug and she waddles out to her car. She drives the couple of blocks to the sprawling mansion Logan insisted he buy for them. Veronica pretends that she hates it, that it is way too big and pretentious, but in reality she loves it. She and Logan decorated it themselves. The memory of Logan trying to paint still brings a smile to her face.

She turns the porch light on as she heads up to bed to wait for Logan.

She is determined that tonight will be the last time she runs, and she is almost right.

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A/N: Please review! Its the button below.


	3. Dick is still Dick

A/N: Thank you to my lovely reviewers. My sister just taught me how to reply to each review so if you review this chapter I should be able to reply to you now.

Thanks also to those of you who alerted this story. I am going to try and update once a week, but life may sometimes get in the way.

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Dick is still a dick.

He still can't look a woman in the eye if she has a large chest. When a woman walks past him he still instinctively checks out her ass. He still really, really wants to see Mac and Veronica make out. He still loves to party.

But almost 6 years ago he became better.

One of his one night stands told him she was pregnant. She announced it to him at a party he was holding. Dick pulled her out of the room to talk privately. The party was silent when she came storming out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

Dick didn't reappear. It took 5 days before Logan convinced Veronica track him down. She was so angry at him for not facing his responsibilities.

She discovered him in a seedy bar in Mexico, drunk on tequila and extremely emotional.

Veronica helped him back to his motel room. She was so angry at him.

It wasn't until she saw the one non-alcoholic purchase Dick had made that she changed her mind. A tiny white jumpsuit with "Back off Daddy, Boobies are mine!"

When he had sobered up, he explained to Veronica that the first thing he asked Candy (yes, Dick did get with her because she had a strippers name) was to marry him. She had laughed at his face.

"Why would I marry you? The only thing you have going in your favour is that Logan Echolls is your best friend. And he rejected me the next morning. What do you have to offer? I can't believe I got pregnant with such a dumbass!"

"Ronnie..."

"Don't call me Ronnie". Veronica interrupted.

"...Do you think I could be a father? He questioned.

"Anyone can be a father, but can you be a Daddy?" She asked back at him.

"I think I can. I just have to be like your Dad. Look after my kid like I should have looked after Beav.. Cassidy. I will need help, but I think I can do it. I want to do it."

"OK."

When Veronica and Dick returned to Neptune, Logan, Mac and Wallace were amazed at the change in Dick's and Veronica's relationship. Neither talked about what happened. But both of them were up to something. They had lots of hushed conversations and lots of meetings. Meetings with Sheriff Keith, Cliff, Alicia and even Vinnie Van Lowe! Also lots of nightly stakeouts.

Wallace tried to get in on the secret by reminding Veronica of her BFF status.

Mac threatened to hack Veronica's credit rating if she didn't tell him what was going on.

Logan tried to convince her to tell him by withholding sex. Veronica broke him in two days.

The three of them turned their attention to Dick. Surprisingly he stood firm and didn't tell them. Even when Mac surprised him, (and herself), by flashing her breasts at him.

One month later, Dick and Veronica sat them down.

"OK, I am going to be a Dad." Dick announced.

"Yeah?" asked Logan confusedly.

"He is going to be a single Dad", Veronica answered. "Candy is going to give him their baby."

"Why? How? What?"Was asked by all three at once.

"Look, she doesn't want this baby. I am paying her to not drink, do drugs or anything else that may harm my baby until the baby is born. I am then giving her a lot of money..."

"Not as much as she thought she would get" interrupted Veronica.

"...once the baby is born to let me have full custody. Veronica has been helping me get some dirt on her to accept my offer of full custody. As you know, I don't have the best track record. Luckily, Candy doesn't just have a stripper's name; she also moonlights as one, plus some other unsavoury jobs. Man, I have really bad taste in women. Anyway, we are also making sure she keeps my baby safe. Vinnie has been helping with the surveillance and Cliff has been writing up the legal paperwork with my lawyer".

"What about all your meetings with Keith and my Mum?" asked Wallace.

Dick blushes a bit and scratches the back of his neck, "Oh, well, they have been giving me parenting tips. I got a mark in health class for that scary doll project even worse than Ronnie so I thought I should get prepared as soon as possible".

Dick grew up even more once his child came.

Candy gave birth and refused to see the child. She demanded more money, which Dick promptly gave her, as well as an iron clad legal document stating she would not contact him ever again for money. These were made null and void two years later after she passed away after a 'client' got angry. Dick and Logan went to the funeral. Veronica babysat.

When Dick saw his daughter for the first time he cried.

When he held her for the first time he fell in love.

When she closed her little fist around his much bigger finger, well, let's just say the opposite was true. Little Cassie Casablancas had her father wrapped around her little finger from that moment onwards.

Logan, Veronica, Wallace and Mac instantly were given the title of 'Uncle and Aunts.'

Veronica resigned herself that Cassie would always call her 'Aunt Ronnie'.

As Cassie grew, so did Dick.

He changed most of her nappies (Wallace and Logan started to hate betting with Dick because Nappy Patrol became a bartering chip. And if you lost, Dick would expect them to come over even in the middle of the night).

He did the nightly feed. However, he also needed to participate in Cassie's mid morning and afternoon naps with her. Yet the minute she stirred he was there to cuddle up to her.

The first winter she got very sick. Veronica was woken from her sleep to the sound of her phone ringing. Dick has never been as scared as at that moment. Veronica made the dash to Dick's house and then to the hospital in only her pyjamas, ugg boots and Logan's thick coat on. It was a long night, with Dick and Veronica refusing to leave Cassie's side. When Logan and Mac (who had been out of town at a business conference) arrived at the hospital the next afternoon, Cassie's fever was down, and Dick and Veronica were asleep, curled up together beside her bed. The one time enemies were now firm friends.

Cassie's first word was... not Dada. Wallace lost that bet (and was on Nappy Patrol for a week!).

Dick's daughter's first word was what you would have to expect from a daughter of Dick.

"Shit."

"No Cassie that is a bad Daddy only word".

"Shit!"

Dada was her second word.

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Ok, I know I indicated in the first chapter that Dick is married, and I have Veronica's wedding speech all ready. But I don't know if I should have Dick marrying Mac, or Heather's sister (can't remember her name at the moment) or an entirely different character. Please let me know what you think.

Thanks for reading.


	4. Mac still spends a lot of time on her co

A/N: Struggling with writers block for my other story but this came to me and I had to write it. Hope you like it.

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Mac still spends a lot of time on her computer.

She is a computer programmer for the company that is Kane Software's biggest competitor. While she doesn't do much hacking any more, (only when Veronica really, really needs help and she has thrown in a batch of vegan chocolate brownies to seal the deal) she still beats all the guys regularly in their weekly computer game tournaments.

When she first started work at Cambell & Camelleri Software she went through a period where her friends barely saw her. She was working long hours and was never home, (Veronica, after a bit of snooping discovered that Mac had a makeshift bed in her office) and she lost a lot of weight due to forgetting meals. She missed Wallace's birthday, Logan's birthday and then Veronica's birthday. She didn't miss Cassie's second birthday though. Veronica (with Logan and Wallace sheepishly following her) charged into her office and basically dragged her out. Mac was angry at first, but it soon turned to guilt when she saw how excited Dick was that she had made it and how much Cassie had grown over the last couple of months. The fact that Veronica had to slip her a gift was the clincher. From then on she made sure she had a decent work to life ratio.

Mac doesn't boast, but the others started to suspect that Mac was the top programmer at C&C. It was confirmed after C&C Software released what was to become the fastest and highest selling computer game in the world. While Mac just smiled mysteriously, the new flashy sports car she started to drive after its release confirmed it.

When she became pregnant, she organised with her bosses that they could let her work from home during and after the pregnancy. While she was pregnant, Dick, Logan and Wallace hated going near her. The usually easy going Mac became unpredictable. She would cry at the drop of the hat at everything. Dick actually wrote into the local news broadcaster to ask them to stop showing the feel good stories about cute and heroic animals as they kept causing Mac to burst into tears. In the end, Dick and Logan just set the t.v to the cartoon network and stole the batteries out of the remote so she couldn't watch news. However, she still cried every time Wile E Coyote was thwarted by the roadrunner. Mac definitely went for the underdog every time.

Dick also banned anyone giving Mac the local paper. Logan understood why when he realised that Dick now had a three legged dog, a Maltese Terrier with abandonment issues and a German Sheppard which was scared of its own shadow. Then add the kitten which had lost most of its fur in a fire and the parrot which had taught Dick and Logan a new swear word and you could understand why Dick was paying for the paperboy to skip their house, all just to stop Mac from seeing the 'adopt a pet' article that the local pound wrote each week.

Mac doesn't remember when she started to think of Dick as more than 'Cassidy's brother' or 'Logan's best friend'. Their friendship was not as unexpected as the one between Veronica and Dick (even Mac had to shake her head at that relationship, they went from enemies to tolerating each other for Logan's sake to being great friends who often excluded Logan from their plans) but it was strange to anyone who did not know the two well.

Yet to their friends, Mac and Dick's relationship made sense. The two of them balanced each other. While Mac was logical, Dick was illogical. While Mac could become too involved in work, Dick was all about the fun. Mac made sure Cassie made it to school but Dick was the one to get up early on the weekends to take her to swimming lessons and to play soccer. Mac knew first aid and could stop wounds from bleeding, but it was Dick who would kiss it better and stop the tears.

Mac was on the computer when her first contraction started. She thought it was just back pain from working too long at her desk. She sat through the family dinner wincing every now again but everyone just assumed it was due to the slightly inappropriate story Dick was telling. It was not until Alicia served her famous Black Forest Cake did anyone suspect something was wrong.

"Mummy Mac has wet her pants," Cassie announces to the whole table. Mac turns red in embarrassment while Veronica pales and Dick, Logan and Wallace jump to their feet in fright. Cliff and Weevil look like they are going to throw up as Darryl and Ryan move in to have a closer look. Keith and Alicia are the only two who stay calm. Alicia sends Darryl and Ryan to the other room to look after Cassie. She directs Cliff to get the hospital bag Mac had packed the week before from the bedroom. Wallace has already grabbed everyone's car keys from the table next to the door and he is moving cars out of the driveway. Alicia sends Weevil out to help him. Keith is ringing Leo to ask him to bring a squad car around to give them a police escort. Veronica is telling Mac to breath and trying to extract her hand from the death grip Mac has on her. Logan has the most difficult job. He is trying to keep Dick calm. He is failing.

Leo pulls up, sirens blaring. Keith helps Veronica get Mac into the car. Logan has to force Dick into the car next to Mac. Dick looks like he is going to puke. It is decided that just Logan and Veronica would go to the hospital with Mac and Dick. Alicia would clean up from dinner (and the mess Mac had made) while Keith would take Ryan home and let Mac's parents know what was going on. Cassie's Uncle Wally would put her to bed, a task which would involve the telling of 5 bedtime stories, 3 drinks of water and one "I can't sleep because my hair is messy" excuse.

After all the panic, Mac and Dick's son is not born until 3:28am. Veronica is very proud of Dick. He only fainted once. Mac had told him that he was never touching her again and Dick had believed her. He fainted with shock and terror. It took Logan 10 minutes to convince him Mac didn't really mean it. All was forgiven once their son was born. Richard Logan Casablancas was just perfect. Everyone agreed, except for Cassie, but then she had wanted Mac to give birth to a puppy, not a baby brother.

Mac still spends a lot of time on her computer. But it is not her most prized possession anymore. Her family is.

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A/N: Please review. Please.


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